Ski Gull features an obstacle course that includes mud pits, a rope swing, water slide and more. The family-friendly event encourages costumes. Visit www.paulbunyanextreme5k. com. PINE RIVER SUMMERFEST Pine River Summerfest is an annual event to celebrate summer that includes a parade, softball tournament, library book sale, classic car show, art show, music, food, duck races, flea market, farmers market and art and craft displays throughout Pine River. Dates are July 27-29. LAKES AREA MUSIC FESTIVAL The 10th annual musical enrichment event begins with a community concert on July 29 and features a 10th anniversary gala on Aug. 4. The August festival brings world-class musicians, seminars, ballet, and a symphony finale to Brainerd, though various concerts are held in the lakes area year-round.. For three weeks each summer the festival provides free classical music performances, including chamber music, symphonic orchestra and semi-staged opera. LAMF also provides educational opportunities for students of all ages, including a week long kids' day camp, preconcert lectures, adult education seminars, and master classes for local musicians. The Lakes Area Music Festival also offers a winter concert series as well. RIVERBOAT HERITAGE DAYS Step back in time to appreciate the days when rivers were roads used to move people and produce with the Riverboat Heritage Days from Aug. 3-5 in Aitkin. LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals will run ThursdaySunday, Aug. 16-19, at Brainerd International Raceway, featuring Top Fuel dragsters, Funny Cars, Pro Stock cars and motorcycles. LAKES BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL The 13th annual Lakes Bluegrass Festival features more than 40 shows WednesdaySunday, Aug. 22-26, at the Cass County Fairgrounds in Pine River. Performers PAGE 64 | DESTINATIONS 2018
include national bands David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition from Kentucky, The Malpass Brothers from North Carolina, The Darrell Webb Band from Pennsylvania, The Purple Hulls from Texas, Amanda Cook & Kennesaw Ridge from Florida, Bluegrass Martins from Missouri and Bluegrass Express from Michigan. The lineup includes Minnesota bands Monroe Crossing, Shaffer’s Lost 40, and Tim & Cindy & Friends. The event includes camping, jamming, workshops and food. New this year is an Old Time Square Dance on Thursday afternoon with The Eel Pout Stringers and dance caller Robin Nelson. LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON The race begins with a 1/4-mile swim in Whipple Lake in Baxter (known for its calm waters), then switches to a 14-mile bike through the rolling hills surrounding the Baxter/ Brainerd lakes area, and ends with a very flat 3.2 mile run through a quiet residential area. Proceeds go to supporting youth and community programming. The race is set 8:30 a.m. Aug. 26. Go to http:// lakescountrytriathlon.com/ for more information. PADDLEPALOOZA Join MNSurf Company for a paddle on the Gull Lake Chain of Lakes for the fourth annual Paddle Palooza Sept. 2. The 5-mile paddle is from Nisswa Lake to Zorbaz on Gull Lake. The event is open to stand-up paddle boarders, kayaks and canoes. The end-of-the-paddle party features music, food and beverages. NISSWA FALL FESTIVAL The 45th annual Nisswa Fall Festival will be Saturday, Sept. 15, along with the 13th annual Smokin’ Hot BBQ Challenge in downtown Nisswa. This longtime fall tradition includes a firefighters’ pancake breakfast, medallion hunt and bean bag tournament, as well as kids games and music. CROSSLAKE DAYS Crosslake welcomes fall with Crosslake Days each September, offering an abundance of activities for all ages, including a classic car and motorcycle show,
arts and crafts fair, chili cookoff, kids’ activities, live music and more. OREMAGEDDON The Teravail Oremageddon mountain bike event in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area is scheduled for the first Saturday in October. Details for the event will be posted at http://www. cuyunalakesmtb.com/ NISSWA CITY OF LIGHTS CELEBRATION The Nisswa City of Lights Celebration takes place annually the day after Thanksgiving Friday, Nov. 23. Festivities for the 37th annual event will begin in the afternoon with horsedrawn wagon rides, storytelling, food vendors, bonfires, holiday carolers and live reindeer. The Pioneer Village is the setting for the live Nativity and the Love Lights a Tree program. At 5:30 p.m., the lights come on throughout town, and Santa Claus greets the children in the gazebo. The event culminates with a fireworks display. WORLD FAMOUS FISH HOUSE PARADE Welcome the holiday season with the World Famous Fish House Parade in Aitkin on Black Friday. The event, which includes a craft fair, draws some 3,000 parade-goers from across the U.S. BRAINERD JAYCEES $150,000 ICE FISHING EXTRAVAGANZA The 29th annual Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, on Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay in Nisswa. The event attracts more than 10,000 anglers who compete for more than $150,000 in cash and prizes. For more information, visit www.icefishing.org. 45NRTH WHITEOUT The 45NRTH Whiteout is raced in February on the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails, located in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area near Crosby and Ironton, featuring 20 miles of groomed singletrack mountain bike trails. The 45NRTH Whiteout has three different races and rides, depending on your mood: 30K
Race, 20K Race and the 10K Race/Ride. Go to http://www. cuyunalakesmtb.com/whiteout. html for more. CROSSLAKE WINTERFEST Crosslake celebrates winter with WinterFest each February with numerous outdoor and indoor activities at area establishments. A key event is SoupFest, where people can sample soups throughout town and vote for their favorite. CROSBY’S ICE FISHING CONTEST The Cuyuna Lakes Chamber holds the annual event in February on Serpent Lake. Prizes go to the top catch. NISSWA WINTER JUBILEE The annual Nisswa Winter Jubilee celebrates winter in mid-February each year with a snow sculpture contest, live music, food, medallion hunt, parade and more. Festivities cap off Sunday of that February weekend with the Nisswa Fire Department’s annual family friendly fishing derby on Nisswa Lake. GULL LAKE FROZEN FORE The Gull Lake Frozen Fore, a winter golf and snowmobile charity event, takes place at the end of February each year at establishments around Gull Lake. The outdoor weekend festival begins on a Friday night on Hole-in-the-Day Bay with the Frozen Flop where people plunge into the lake for charity. Saturday, participants take shuttles or drive snowmobiles and play nine holes of winter golf. Sunday features the Gull Lake Food Fest on Hole-in-theday Bay. SCORPION HOMECOMING In February, classic snowmobiles grace the ice on Scorpion Lake in Crosby. The Scorpion Homecoming in 2017 featured revolutionary TrailA-Sled airsleds from the late 1950s and early 1960s, Cuyuna Lakes Chamber of Commerce Annual Ice Fishing Contest & Scorpion Homecoming. The event is devoted exclusively to the memory of Trail-A-Sled Inc. and Scorpion Inc. creators and manufacturers of the legendary Scorpion snowmobile.